Lassiter, Frank flourish for Heels

WINSTON-SALEM | Baseball fans from Davidson County have a vested interest in the North Carolina baseball team this season.

BY JASON QUEENThe Dispatch

WINSTON-SALEM | Baseball fans from Davidson County have a vested interest in the North Carolina baseball team this season.Chaz Frank and Landon Lassiter hope to keep their attention for a while.Frank, a senior who graduated from Central Davidson, and Lassiter, a freshman who graduated from North Davidson, start on the diamond for the Tar Heels. Carolina is currently ranked No. 1 in the country, with a perfect 16-0 record, and Frank and Lassiter are a big part of that. Frank starts in center field, and Lassiter starts at second base; they hit 1-2 in the batting order.And so far, they have been the catalysts for an ultra-productive lineup. Lassiter has made a smooth transition to the college game; he's hitting .381 with two doubles, a homer and nine RBIs, and his on-base percentage of .594 leads the team.Frank, after hitting .293 last season, is off to a somewhat slow start, hitting .238. But, he has an OBP of .346 and plays center field like a vacuum cleaner.And, for a kid whose hustle and smile outshined his physical appearance when he was a freshman at Central Davidson and playing for Post 8, Frank has certainly made the most of his time in Chapel Hill. "It's been the best," he said Sunday, after the Tar Heels completed a weekend sweep of Wake Forest at Gene Hooks Field. "I wouldn't trade anything for four years at Carolina."The brotherhood that I've got here; this team's really like family. Just the overall experience, with academics and baseball, it's been unbelievable."It's been everything he hoped for when he was going through the recruiting process in high school. Former Central coach Jonathan Brown, who is now the principal at Ledford, said the Heels were always the front-runner in Frank's mind. "At the time, we had ECU, State and Carolina all talking to us," Brown explained. "And he expressed to me, 'I really want to be a Tar Heel.'"That prompted Brown to ask Carolina coach Mike Fox how serious he was about signing Frank. After some reassurance, the other schools on the list disappeared from his mind and Frank was a Tar Heel.Lassiter's recruitment was a little different, and included a few strange twists. His older brother, Garrison, had signed to play in Chapel Hill. But, when he was selected in the amateur draft, he chose to play professional football. That left a hole in the middle infield at Carolina, so Fox asked Levi Michael — who was set to begin his senior year at North Davidson — if he would be willing to graduate early and enroll during what would have been his senior season. He agreed and left Welcome, and that left a hole in the Black Knights' infield. In stepped Lassiter, then a freshman.But North coach Mike Meadows never had any reservations about inserting him in the lineup right away. "Watching him in the eighth grade, he was a big kid anyway," Meadows said. "He was the fastest kid. We watched him in middle school football, he was unbelievable. Middle school basketball, he was scoring 20-30 points a game."The physical difference between a 14-year-old freshman and a 17- or 18-year-old senior, that's what kind of holds them back. But he was a big, strong kid anyway when he got there."And his talent matched his physical stature. "Offensively, he's as gifted a player as I've ever seen in high school," Meadows said. "He can run, he can hit for power, he can hit for average. He can drag bunt."So it's no surprise Lassiter has fit in right away at Carolina, and enjoyed success early on. He was sporting a moustache for Sunday's game, matching a large number of his teammates. "It's been a blast so far," Lassiter said after Sunday's game. "It's everything I dreamt of since I was a little kid."This was a big ACC series for us, so to come get a sweep on the road, that's huge. We've had a great start, it's been fun."Meadows noted how intelligent Lassiter is. That is surely put to the test at the college level, where players have to hold down a full course load on top of the time they spend on the field. He has leaned on the veterans, like Frank, to help with that process. "I've just talked to the upperclassmen, and tried to get a feel for everything," he said. "Once you get the feel for it, and schedule your day and plan ahead, you're fine."Frank learned how to adjust very quickly. Now, he says, he's four years older and understands what it takes to make it all flow smoothly. "It's like a job," he said. "I'm at the field from 12 to 5, 12 to 6 every day, and going to classes from 8 to 11 or 8 to 12 every day."It is rigorous, it's hard, and it's a lot different from high school. But you mature a lot when you come to college, you learn a lot of new things and grow as a young man."He made his move into the starting lineup during his sophomore year, and he's stayed there since. He covers a ton of ground in the outfield, and sets the table at the top of the order. That hasn't surprised Brown one bit. "All I can think about is the first time I saw him play, when he was a rising freshman," Brown said. "He has intangibles that are very hard to coach."He gets great jumps. He really understands how to run the bases, and angles to balls in the outfield. And that was the first thing that stuck out in my mind; he does things that are very hard to coach."Lassiter, likewise, has gifts that most coaches salivate over. He has the perfect body type for a college slugger, but the range of a pro-caliber shortstop on the infield. His arm and glove are good enough that he can play anywhere on the infield.He said the physical part isn't a great deal different than his days at North Davidson. But he finds himself putting more time in with preparation. "It's just consistency and being ready," he explained. "A lot of it's mental. Just be ready and prepare your body, and try to stay healthy."Frank and Lassiter kept local fans happy for four years playing hard and leading their teams when they were in high school. Not surprisingly, they appear to be on the verge of continuing that trend, and could find themselves in Omaha competing for a College World Series.Jason Queen can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 220 or jason.queen@the-dispatch.com.

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